Bitcoin (BTC) Hashrate Gains Another Peak

The Bitcoin (BTC) network saw another mining peak, reached within a day of heightened activity. Mining touched a pace of 86 EH/s, an unprecedented number of hashing operations, after days of relatively weaker mining.

The heightened mining is happening despite the recent peak difficulty. Miners are also joining in despite the recent drop in BTC market prices. Despite the adage of “miners follow the money”, even at $9,500, BTC is attractive enough. Also, miners tend to follow block rewards, and for the Bitcoin network, only about four months are left until the block reward is slashed in half to 6.25 BTC.

The heightened mining activity, while possibly temporary, is seen by some traders as a bullish sign. A recent trend to seek newly-mined BTC at a premium means that the coins are not likely to be sold on the open market, thus offering little downward price pressure at least in the short term.

The more recent block discovery profile also shows that new mining leaders are showing up. In the past, for months four chief pools would discover most of the blocks. Now, growth comes from the effect of large-scale “unknown” miners discovering blocks. Additionally, the Huobi mining pool has gained influence.

The recent spike in activity happens after a months-long growth trend. The network gradually broke records above 60 EH/s, later hiking upward to a series of peaks. The growth also coincides with the widespread deliveries of the new series of Antminer ASIC, while new farms were built with newer equipment. China remains a leader in BTC mining, but other regions also offer profitable conditions.

BTC also managed to start a new growth trend on Monday, bouncing off recent lows near $9,500. The price crept up to $9,828.83, rising on relatively slim volumes around $12 billion’s equivalent in 24 hours. BTC is one of the most significant sources of growth in 2019, outpacing most major altcoins, and offering regular and robust mining revenues.

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